attract more students through expanded programming and increased scholarships;

improve student exposure to global education, research, and career opportunities;

encourage collaboration, innovation, and partnerships with communities around the world;

raise the profiles of UPEI and PEI as destinations for study, research, development, and investment; and,

increase UPEI’s already significant social, cultural, and economic contributions to the province and the region.

Financial Highlights

As of April 3, 2019, the INSPIRE! Campaign had surpassed its goal, and ahead of schedule, raising a total of $50,256,292.

Campaign Highlights

UPEI had a total of 3,013 donors, of which 679 were new. The INSPIRE! Campaign received contributions from donors in 10 different countries, and from all 13 provinces and territories in Canada and 32 states in the United States.

Achievements of note

Cavendish Farms makes largest single donation to the campaign to date.

Cavendish Farms announced a $2 million donation to the University of Prince Edward Island’s School of Sustainable Design Engineering to support sustainable farming solutions in the agricultural industry.

“With our roots on Prince Edward Island, Cavendish Farms is proud to support the UPEI School of Sustainable Design Engineering as they develop innovations for the agriculture industry here on the Island and across the globe,” said Robert K. Irving, President of Cavendish Farms. “Cavendish Farms has a strong commitment to the environment and sustainable farming practices. This donation will help continue to further sustainable farming for years to come.”

Ken Clark (Ruth’s nephew) presented UPEI with a major gift from the estate of his aunt Helen Ruth MacDonald to create The Roderick Stirling MacDonald Scholarships. These scholarships will be granted to students who are entering the B.Sc. or M.Sc. Applied Climate Change and Adaptation degree program at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Ken Clark (centre) presented a $1 million gift on behalf of the estate of his aunt Ruth MacDonald to UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz and Executive Director of Development and Alumni Engagement Myrtle Jenkins-Smith.

A Leadership gift was received from the estate of Jean McGaughey, to create The Jean T. McGaughey Diver Award, which will be granted to an entrance or returning student enrolled full time in a UPEI Nursing program who is in financial need. Ms. Diver trained at the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing and subsequently at Dalhousie University. She worked as a public health nurse in Prince Edward Island for 35 years.

The University of Prince Edward Island was thrilled to be chosen as one of 55 organizations across Canada to receive a $30,000 funding grant through the Rick Hansen Foundation’s Access4All Program, a Canada 150 Signature Initiative, supported by the Government of Canada. The UPEI project, aimed at breaking down barriers for people living with disabilities, was the only initiative chosen on Prince Edward Island and funded infrastructure upgrades in ten buildings on the UPEI campus.

“We want to help ensure that every individual in the UPEI community has the opportunity to realize their full potential,” said Vice-President Administration and Finance Jackie Podger. “This begins with creating inclusive and accessible communities, and we’re proud to be able to improve and upgrade our facilities with support from the Government of Canada and the Rick Hansen Foundation.”

Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby team member and Islander Kristen Cameron attended a celebration on campus marking the improvements and helped unveil the University’s new Access Advisor designation of “Full Mobile Accessible”, made possible through the new upgrades.

Kathleen (Keefe) Murphy was one of the trailblazers and early pioneer women who enrolled at Saint Dunstan’s University (SDU). To honour their mother and the first female students at UPEI’s founding institution, the Murphy family created a legacy gift to support renovations to the interior of UPEI’s Chaplaincy Centre and to create a small outdoor amphitheatre.

The Murphy family with their mother, Kathleen (Keefe) Murphy in the new outdoor amphitheatre.

UPEI receives the largest grant available from Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund to support mental health training

The University of Prince Edward Island was pleased to receive a grant from Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund in support of UPEI’s Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program.

Funding will allow two UPEI Student Affairs employees to be professionally trained as instructors in the ASIST program. Once trained, these instructors will offer the two-day ASIST program free-of-charge to students, faculty and staff at UPEI, beginning with high-priority groups such as residence life coordinators, Student Affairs staff and other employees who may be the first point of contact for students in a crisis.

SSDE acquires a state-of-the-art water jet system with funds raised from the Inspire! Campaign

With the generous support of the engineering donors who contributed to the Inspire! Campaign, the School of Sustainable Design Engineering (SSDE) was able to acquire a state-of-the-art water jet system. This system brings a new capability to the SSDE and will enable students to produce a wide range of parts for their prototype systems. The system will also support UPEI’s broader research community as well as local companies in the aerospace, biomedical, automation, and marine sectors.

The water jet system will be housed in the SSDE’s Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing. This Centre supports the SSDE’s unique design clinic model whereby students are engaged in real-world project with outside clients for every semester of the four-year program.

New water jet system at SSDE purchased with some of the funds donated to SSDE as part of the Inspire! Campaign.

Annual gifts from alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of UPEI provide a vital source of revenue for university operations. Annual gifts, which are received and spent in the same year, go to work immediately to support many projects at UPEI.

This year, those projects included the purchase of a new scrum sled for the women’s rugby team, a refurbishment to The Cadre office, and a new summer program at SSDE to promote an interest in engineering with girls in high school.

Atlantic Veterinary College’s teaching hospital offers client tour

Over 70 clients of AVC’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) got a “behind-the-scenes” look at some of the specialty services offered by the hospital, including dentistry, oncology, theriogenology, and CT scanner technology, during the College’s second annual Client Appreciation Reception.

Marylou Hughes has made her mark in many ways on our university and in the Prince Edward Island community. She attributes much of her success to her UPEI experience and has been a consistent volunteer and donor for years. In 2017, Marylou decided to provide a major gift to UPEI in support of the ongoing efforts and important work of the Lucy Maud Montgomery Institute.

Donor “Inspired” Thank-You ~ Guardian Newspaper Ads

In 2017 UPEI highlighted some of its donors in Prince Edward Island’s Guardian newspaper. To view these ads you can click on the month below.